Drizzt Do’Urden made his first mistake the moment he was born: he was a boy. In the rigid matriarchy of the dark elf city of Menzoberranzan, that makes his life forfeit. But when his own mother tries but fails to kill him, Drizzt’s path is set. He must find a way to escape the treacherous Underdark, even if that means setting out alone into the no less dangerous World Above.

This trilogy is the first three books in the story of Drizzt, and as such they can be read as standalone books. In this review I will be writing about the first in this trilogy ‘Homeland’, as to review all three books in one place would lead to an almost novel length piece of writing in itself.

The male protagonist is a study of contradictions and unanswered questions; why do certain things happen to him that he either does not react to or goes completely over the top? Despite the huge holes in his back-story I actually quite liked Drizzt and his intent, be it on purpose or just by accident, of not wanting to conform to what was expected of him. This side of his personality gave him depth and an almost lifelike quality. However, as I said earlier there are, in my opinion, so many question about this character that remain unanswered I did feel at times as if I were walking in fog, constantly losing my direction. The way in which this Author portrays the female characters in this book was interesting to me, as he endows them which what could be seen as being primarily male traits. They are cruel to the point of making the reader wince, ambitious and powerful; they are the main force behind any battles that takes place and are not at all reticent at showing their disdain for the males in their charge. I found this to be a refreshing take on the female role in a fantasy novel, and it added considerably to the book.

The book moves along at a steady pace, and the Author has taken some time with his world building, and the description of the lead characters home provides the reader with a sweeping vista in which to place him. Again though, as in the character development, I felt as if there were something missing here, almost as if pages were missing from my copy of the book.

Despite feeling confused at times whilst reading this, I will be reading more by this Author in the hopes that some of my many questions will be answered as the series progresses. I would recommend this book to any lover of the fantasy genre.

Welcome everyone to my blog! My name is Cate and I recently decided that, rather than keep my reviews of books I’ve read limited to one medium, I would create a blog for every book lover to access on the internet. Why? Well, because I love to read and also because I want to help out authors by giving their books a spotlight on my blog, and possibly help them reach a wider audience. So take a look around and enjoy yourself!